Mash-Up: Anything for Money

Just as Eriri was feeling overwhelmed with frustration, a soft knocking sound reached her ears.

"Eriri, are you asleep?"

Lying on her bed, Eriri heard the voice from outside her door. 

She patted her cheeks lightly, took a moment to collect her thoughts, then slowly got out of bed and opened the door.

"What is it?"

"I'm going out to grab something to eat. Do you want to come along?"

Eriri was about to decline, but then she realized that if she stayed in her room doing nothing, she'd probably end up feeling even more restless.

Rather than that, it might be better to go out and find something to distract herself.

With that in mind, Eriri agreed to her mother, Sayuri Sawamura's, suggestion.

"Wait a minute, let me change first."

"Alright, I'll wait for you downstairs."

Sayuri carefully closed the door before heading downstairs, taking a seat on the sofa in the living room.

In truth, she wasn't actually hungry. 

As someone who had been through similar experiences, she simply figured that her daughter must be reaching her breaking point and wanted to help distract her.

"I'm going to gain weight again…"

"Sayuri, just hang in there for a couple of days, and it'll pass."

Like Eriri, Sayuri believed that her daughter's current state was simply due to her struggling to adjust after a long-standing habit had suddenly been broken.

So as long as she got through these next few days, everything would be fine.

A few minutes later, Eriri came downstairs dressed in casual clothes.

It had to be said—there was a reason why she was considered on par with Utaha and Yukino at Toyosaki Academy.

Aside from her mixed heritage and family background, her looks alone were more than enough to compete with them.

Even in such a simple outfit, her beauty still shone through.

"Let's go."

Walking along the bustling streets, Eriri looked around at the numerous food stalls lining the roadside and couldn't help but ask,

"Going out for late-night snacks like this... Mom, aren't you worried about gaining weight?"

Of course Sayuri was worried. But for her daughter's sake, she had no choice.

"We're already out, so let's not spoil the mood with that kind of talk."

"Eat more. Who knows, maybe you still have room to grow."

"Huh? What kind of comment is that? I'm only sixteen! These things... can't be rushed, okay?"

As she spoke, Eriri's confidence wavered—because she had just thought of Utaha's chest.

In the end, she could only console herself with the fact that Utaha was a year older than her.

"Alright, alright, let's drop the subject. What do you want to eat?"

"Eat what?"

Hearing this, Eriri instinctively scanned the surrounding food stalls.

With her father being a diplomat, her family was well-off, and their home was located in one of the most prosperous areas.

Because of that, night markets always popped up around her neighborhood, offering a dazzling variety of food choices.

Eventually, her gaze settled on a handmade dessert stall, and she slowly walked toward it.

Seeing this, Sayuri's heart sank.

If she remembered correctly, the last thing Eriri ate that was made by Hakuto was also a handmade cake.

There was no way this was just a coincidence—Sayuri didn't believe that for a second. 

But at this point, there was nothing she could do except go with the flow.

A few minutes later, both Eriri and Sayuri had a handmade cake in their hands.

"It looks nice, but I wonder how it tastes..."

"Ahem..."

Before Sayuri could finish her sentence, Eriri suddenly started coughing. A faint smear of white cream was left at the corner of her mouth.

Her expression twisted in discomfort as she gasped for air, sticking out her tongue repeatedly as if trying to rid herself of the taste.

"This is... a cake? It tastes like a dirty dishcloth that hasn't been washed for two days, mixed with lemon, and shoved into my mouth."

Since Eriri had ordered a lemon cake, she naturally mentioned lemon in her comparison.

However, her description made Sayuri glance warily at the strawberry cake in her own hand, her mind now unwillingly imagining what a dishcloth mixed with strawberries would taste like.

To be honest, Sayuri's hands were shaking. She hesitated, wondering whether she should take a bite. After all, she had paid for it. 

But looking at her daughter's utterly miserable expression, she felt a little afraid.

After much deliberation, she decided she couldn't let her daughter suffer alone. As a mother, she had to share the burden.

"Just one bite... just a small one."

Convincing herself, Sayuri brought the cake to her lips, took a tiny bite, and began to chew.

"..."

"Wait... it's not that bad."

Judging by her own taste buds, the cake before her wasn't exactly delicious, but it definitely wasn't on the level of an unwashed dishcloth either.

She then turned to look at Eriri, who was still dry heaving. Could there be that much of a difference between the lemon cake and the strawberry cake?

With that thought, Sayuri decided to test her theory. She reached over and took the cake from Eriri's hand.

At this point, Eriri couldn't care less. She wanted that so-called lemon cake as far away from her as possible.

"Just throw it away... don't eat it."

Hearing her daughter's warning, Sayuri hesitated for a moment but eventually decided to take a small bite.

"..."

"Hmm..."

Just as she had expected, the lemon cake wasn't much different. It wasn't particularly good, but it also wasn't the inedible abomination Eriri made it out to be.

Even if their tastes differed, Eriri's reaction still seemed way too extreme.

If the problem wasn't the cake itself... Sayuri turned her gaze back to Eriri.

"Eriri, try this one."

"...Is this... yours, Mom?"

"Yes, mine tasted fine to me. You should give it a try."

Looking at the strawberry cake in her mother's hand, Eriri wanted to refuse, but Sayuri was simply too insistent.

And so, the next moment—

"Ugh—! A dishcloth that hasn't been washed for two days, mixed with strawberries—ugh!"

Sayuri tossed both cakes into the trash. While she didn't think they tasted bad, they weren't worth forcing down either.

"Hmm... So is the problem with the person?"

At that moment, Eriri, still dry heaving, suddenly blurted out,

"Hakuto's cakes taste way better than this."

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Check out the other translations too: [Mash-Up: I'm Not A Substitute]

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